Making sure his grip was firm on the pole near its top, Gonff leveled it in front of him.

"Me first, Dinny next, then you, matey. Watch me and see how it's done. I'm a prince of vaulters, y'know."

Gonff broke into a fast trot. With the pole held straight out, he sped across the road, then dipping the pole into the ditch he levered upward and out. Martin saw the pole bend, carrying Gonff high into the air. The momentum swung him easily across the ditch. He landed lightly on his paws and pushed the pole back to the mole.

Dinny held it gingerly, whispering to Martin, "Murrsey, oi 'ates a leaven owd earth, 'tis on'y burds be so fool'ardy. Art well, yurr oi goo."

Dinny performed a waddling little shuffle, jabbed the pole into the ditch and rose slowly into the air. The impetus was not sufficient to carry him across; he wavered in the air and began dropping back. Martin made a mad dash. Catching the pole low down, he thrust against it and whipped back with all his force. Dinny was catapulted away from the pole across the ditch. He hit the far bank near the top and was grabbed by Gonff, who helped him to scrabble out. Dinny lay kissing the gra.s.s, thankful to be back on firm ground.

Martin's strength and fearlessness helped him to make the crossing with ease. He quite enjoyed the sensation of flying through the air. When Dinny was fully recovered, they commenced their journey into the flatlands.

137.

They were not long gone when Blacktooth yawned and stretched himself in the ditch. The trackers had camped a short distance south of the vaulting area.

Splitnose rolled over in his sleep and slid from the narrow strip of dry bottom into the slimy shallow water.

"Yaauugghhh! You lousy vermin! Who did that? Come on, own up!"

"Heeheehee! You did it yourself, puddenhead. It's a wonder you never carried on snoring."

"What, me, snoring? Have you ever heard yourself? Sounds like a goose gargling."

"Rubbish. I never slept a wink. Oh, I dropped off for a moment or two a while back. Funny, though. I dreamed I saw a mouse, just up that way apiece. Guess what? He flew across the ditch,"

"Heeheehee oh ahaharr! He wasn't followed by Cludd pretending to be a swallow, was he?"

"Ha, you can laugh, fatty. But it was almost as if I was awake. The mouse flew, I tell you."

"Fatty yourself. That's what you get for hogging all those rations last night. It was a nightmare brought on by pure greed."

"It was not. It was more like a daymare brought on by the hunger. I'm starving."

Scratch ignored their arguing. Pulling himself from the ditch, he took a chunk of bread from his pack and began munching it.

Splitnose and Blacktooth stopped fighting to complain.

"Oi, that's not fair. You're supposed to be the leader. It's up to you to see we're properly fed."

"That's right. I've only got a stingy little bit of crust and it's sopping wet from that stinking ditch water."

Contemptuously Scratch threw a crust on the bank edge. "There you are. First out gets it."

The ferret and the stoat fought tooth and claw. They kicked each other down in an effort to be first out of the ditch. Black-tooth won. He grabbed the crust as Splitnose wailed pite-ously, "Give me some, Blackie. Go on. I'd give you half if I had bread."

"No you wouldn't, stoatface."

"Yes I would."

138.

"Wouldn't."

"Would."

Blacktooth relented with bad grace. "Oh, here, scringe-tail. Don't pig it all down in one gobful."

"Aaahh, that's not fair. You've got the biggest half."

Scratch had wandered further up the bank. He chewed on a young dandelion, pulled a face, spat it out and shouted, "Hoi, you two, stop bellyaching and look at this."

They ambled up, chewing the last of the crust. "What is it?"

Scratch shook his head in despair. "What do you think it is, loafbrains? Look, it's the track of those two mice and the mole. See, here and here, the pawprints are as clear as day. They're traveling west."

Splitnose found the pole and held it up triumphantly. "Aha, another clue. They must have used this to climb out of the ditch on."

"Oh chuck it away, bouldernose," Scratch sneered. "Huh, you'll be telling me next that they used it to fly through the air on. Come on, you two. At least we're on their trail."

From the topmost branches of a beech on the south side of Kotir, Chibb checked the straps on his pack before flying off to the cells. Brush and Birch watched him flying into the thin dawn light, then Brush readied the next pack.

"Shouldn't take too long, then we can nip back and see how the battle's going."

Birch looked to his quiver. "I'm nearly out of arrows. Bet the others are, too. Tell you what-you stay here and see to the robin while I swing back to base. I'll gather all the arrows I can lay my paws on from the stores and take them to our archers."

"Good idea. See you later, mate."

Around the back of the elm, it was only a short distance from the heavy loam of the woodlands. Foremole led the little party, Columbine and Ben bringing up the rear with Soilflyer, a champion young digging mole. "Hurr on'y a liddleways, now gaffers," he chuckled secretively. 'Uz diggers do 'ave a foin tunnel awaiten fer *ee to excape thru." Gratefully they were helped into the broad tunnel dug by the 139.

moles. As they progressed along it, Columbine could hear Soi!-flyer filling in behind them. Up ahead, Foremole said comfortingly to some mice, "Never 'ee fear, liddle guddbeasts. We'm a goen' to Moledeep. None may foind 'ee thurr."

Tsarmina's determination was unabated. She pushed her forces ruthlessly forward.

"Come on. Can't you see they aren't sending over as many arrows or stones? Keep going. We've got them."

Fortunata's ear throbbed unmercifully. The vixen was lucky that the arrow had not struck a bit lower, or it would have been her skull. Clamping a pawful of her own herbs to the wound, she looked up dismally as a large squirrel swung in laden with quivers of arrows. The fox dropped back a few paces, muttering beneath her breath, "If you think you've got 'em, Milady, then go and get them yourself."

Two of Skipper's crew were driving long sharp stakes into the ground at the base of the elm trunk. Earth had been piled around the stakes and leafy branches scattered on top. From a distance it looked for all the world like a crew of otters lying in wait, armed with spears.

The newly arrived arrows drove the Kotir soldiers back a short distance, despite Tsarmina's threats and blandishments. Lady Amber checked to see that the moles had got away with their charges.

"Is it ready, Skip?"

Skipper held up a paw. "As ready as it'll ever be, marrn." "Good. We'll fire a last couple of heavy salvos while you slip off with the crew. See you back at Brockhall." "Aye. Good huntin', marm. Come on, crew." Once again Amber's tail stood up straight. "Archers, fire!"

Tsarmina and Cludd heard the command.

"Down flat, keep your heads down, shields up," Cludd bellowed to the soldiers.

When the invaders lifted their heads, the otters were gone. There followed an eerie silence, broken only by the rustle of the treetops. Tsarmina knew this was the squirrels retreating. She straightened up and ventured a pace forward. Cludd joined her.

140.

"Ha, bunch of cowards, eh, Milady. Looks like they've run away."

Tsarmina peered toward the mound at the base of the elm. "Maybe, maybe not. I think they might have set up some sort of trap, or is that a crew of otters armed with spears? Take ten soldiers and investigate it, Cludd. Go on, we're here to back you up."

Reluctantly Cludd selected ten creatures and set off gingerly for the enemy lines. He ducked once or twice when someone stepped on a twig. Finally he arrived at the mound. Knowing the danger had pa.s.sed, Cludd kicked at a leafy bough, and prodded the mound with his spear.

"All clear, Milady. It was only a stupid trick to make us think they were still here."

"What about the squirrels, Cludd?" Fortunata sounded cautious.

The weasel Captain peered upward into the elm branches then hurled his spear straight up. Several soldiers dodged out of the way as it landed back, point up in the mound. A small amount of twigs and leaves fell with it.

"Not a hide nor hair of the lily-livered bunch!" Cludd puffed his chest out as he retrieved his spear.

Relieved and exultant, the soldiers of Kotir rose up, cheering and stamping about in a victory dance.

"We won, we won!" "Won what?" Tsarmina's voice rose angrily above the celebration. "Fools, can't you see it's an empty triumph: no plunder, no slaves, no submission. They've vanished completely, and what have we gained? A few yards of woodland that belongs to me anyway.''

The sudden volley of arrows slashed down, taking them unawares. Soldiers threw up shields, diving headlong for the undergrowth. Even the wildcat Queen had to beat an undignified retreat behind the elm tree she had conquered.

Once again the chattering derisory laughter of squirrels, as they swung off into the fastnesses of Mossflower, was all that remained of the woodlanders. *

Gingivere had enlarged the two holes so that Ferdy and Coggs were able to squeeze through into his cell.

Gleefully they upturned the contents of the first pack.

"Good old mum's apple pie!"

141.

"Ooh, elderberry cordial!"

"Look, cheese and hazelnuts!"

"Candied chestnuts, too. Hahaha, bet old Chibb didn't know about *em."

"Come on, Mr. Gingivere. Here's some seedcake and milk. Let's have a secret supper together, then you can tell us the news from Chibb."

Amidst the laughter, Gingivere brushed away a tear from his eye. He was delighted with the company of his two little hedgehog friends, after the long lonely confinement following his father's death.

It was noontide when Martin and Dinny sat down to rest. Gonff stood surveying the vastness that surrounded them; undulating plain, flatland and moorland stretched away into the distance, the for horizon danced and shimmered in the unseasonal heat. Gonff thought he could detect a smudge on the horizon, but he could not be sure until they had traveled further. The mousethief turned, looking back to where they had come from.

"Well, mateys, it's certainly a big wide world outside the woodlands and good old Mossflower. I can still glimpse it back there."

Dinny lay back chewing a btade of gra.s.s. "Hurr hurr, an' can 'ee still see yon liddle mousemaid a-waven to 'ee?"

Gonff shielded his eyes with his paw and played along. "Why yes, and there's someone else too. It looks like your grandad waving his stick. He wants that deeper 'n' ever pie that you stole from him."

"That wasn't Dinny," Martin yawned. "You probably stole it. See anything else?"

GonfFs whiskers twitched. "Aye, those three vermin that are tracking us. Looks like they've picked up our trail, matey."

Martin and Dinny leaped up, staring in the direction Gonff was pointing.

"There, see-a weasel, a ferret and a stoat. Now they've started to run. Why are they in a hurry all of a sudden?"

"Prob'ly cos they'm soighted us'ns, now we studd up," Dinny suggested.

"Aye, matey, you're right. Well, what do we do now, warrior? Stand and fight? You just say the word."

142.

Martin gnawed his lip, stopping his paw from straying to die otter sling bound about his middle.

"No, that's not what we're questing for. We'd be losing valuable time. It's our duty to find Salamandastron and Boar the Fighter, so that he can return with us to save Mossflower. The first thing a warrior must learn is orders and duty."

Gonff strapped his pack back on. Dinny had not removed his. He was away and running, small velvety paws pounding the gra.s.sland.

"Coom on, 'ee two,"he called. "Us'ns can lose they vur-min afore eventoid."

The three friends ran in silence, measuring their stride and conserving energy. All that could be heard above the drumming of their paws was a descending lark and the chirrup of gra.s.shoppers in the dry gra.s.sland warmth. The high sun above watched the scene like a great golden eye. The hunted jogged steadily on, with the hunters rushing behind to close the gap.

There was no infirmary for the wounded at Kotir. Soldiers lay about in the barracks, licking their hurts and tending to themselves as best as they could. Cludd was quite pleased with himself. They had driven off the woodlanders and the army had not retreated, so what was all the fuss about?

He put the question to Ashleg.

"Try telling her that, weasel. Here she comes." The pine flaarten's cloak swirled about as he pointed to the stairs.

Tsarmina bounded into the barracks, crooking a claw at them. "You two, up to my room. Right away!"

There was little" to be gained by arguing, so with sinking hearts they trooped up the stairway.

Fortunata was already there, her ear painfully swollen from the arrow wound. Ashleg could not resist a sly sn.i.g.g.e.r. ' "Heehee, looks like you need a healer, fox."

Tsarmina swept in, just in time to hear the jibe.

"One more remark like that, woodenpin, and you'll need il new head. Now, what happened to my ambush in the ".- woods?" They stood dumbly, waiting for the storm to break. 5 It was not long in coming.

The wildcat Queen cleared the table in one reckless sweep. }- Bell, dishes, ornaments, linen and food crashed to the floor.

"Nothing! That's what we gained from it all."

$' 143.

She raged around the chamber, kicking over furniture, tearing at wall hangings and bending fire irons out of shape as her voice rose to a maddened howl.